Wildlife sanctuary Rathenbore

> Getting up early and going by open jeep to look for tigers in wildlife sanctuaries is always exciting. Full of hopes and expectations to see a Royal Bengal Tiger in the wild. We stop at the park office for the proper registration - access is limited so Lalit had to reserve in advance - then the park does a random draw to assign the area of the park each party will be allowed into. Our area was not known for really good Tiger sightings and it lived up to it's reputation. But we saw some beautiful wildlife. Several kinds of deer and antelope, a mongoose, a brown fish owl which was a fantastic sighting for us and of course peacocks roaming around in the wild. We had a special wildlife guide that we picked up at the park entrance, Lalit ( who used to be a wildlife guide), another guide that came with the jeep Lalit hired and the driver and Susan and me. All looking, looking for a tiger without any luck. I think we have two more Tiger preserves to tour before we start home. We also have a wildlife park known as one of the last areas for the Asian Lion. Lalit says these are much easier to see than Tigers.
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Rajastan - One

Photo taken In the open courtyard at the Chobdar Haveli in Mandawa. Our dining room is behind 0us but very much like the sitting rooms in the photo.  Our first night in Rajastan and it just got better from here.  There were musicians playing traditional drums called Tabla and a hand pump keyboard called a Harmonium.  Some Havelis added a dancer or marionette show to the music.  Our room which was one floor up was beautiful and comfortable and opened onto the open courtyard.  

> We have driven from Delhi to Rajastan. On the first day we stopped at Mr. Omprakash's ( our driver) home in a small village south of Delhi. His family was very nice - his wife, a son and two daughters, and his parents. We were served chai, then fresh buttermilk with roasted cumin seeds floating on it (I thought it was really good!). And a wheat, butter, and raw sugar cane sugar. It was good and filling. Then we drove to Mandawa. The landscape became more desert like and groups of small round huts began to appear. Mostly made of grasses - thatched and bound, but then becoming mud or mud brick and we started seeing groups of mud huts connected by walls making small walled compounds.
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> We stayed in a small old Haveli in Mandawa that was beautiful with modern rooms in a very old building. The rooms surrounded the central courtyard on three sides. There was an entrance room and wall closing the courtyard completely. The weather is mild and dry so tables are set in the open courtyard and in open arched rooms to the side. The walls were beautifully painted with frescos.
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> Driving on to Bikaner the land got drier and more sandy. We were getting into the edge of the Thar desert that goes into Pakistan. We are seeing many older weathered men with big gray mustaches wearing colorful turbans. We learned that the turban is worn by the head of the Hindu families in Rajastan. In this region there are so many different head covers that can be used to identify the individual's religion and position. There are the Hindu turbans, the Muslim turbans tied differently than the Hindu, and the Sikh turban also tied differently.
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> In the evenings and mornings there is always the Muslim call to prayer echoing through the towns. There is also the sounds of singing and music from the Hindu community. Very exotic to us hearing all this at sunset and sunrise everyday. Also everyday we see lots of camels pulling wagons, plowing, carrying loads, and just grazing along the highways. Elephants are being used mostly for carrying tourists.
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> The days in Rajastan have been very warm and the nights cool. Also very dry desert climate which is nice after all the time in wet jungle areas in the past month. The clothes we wash at night will actually dry here!
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> We rode camels into the Thar desert one evening to some high sand dunes for sunset. Very touristy thing but was fun and being in the large dunes at sunset was beautiful. These desert forts up on the rocky ridges above the towns are really beautiful and very old with great histories.
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> Our itenery for those days is below along with whatever photos I can get into the blog from the iPad.
> 16th Nov: DELHI - MANDAWA.
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> MANDAWA The land of Shekha (Rao Shekhaji 1433-1488) is known for its human and artistic enterprises. This region has been the home of the Marwari community, known for their commercial success. Hundreds of havelis, temples, cenotaphs, walls and forts in this region have intricate wall paintings or frescoes.
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> 17th Nov: MANDAWA – DESHNOK - BIKANER.
> BIKANER is the royal fortified city with a timeless appeal. Lying to the north of Rajasthan, the city is dotted with many sand dunes. Bikaner retains the medieval splendour that pervades the city's lifestyle. More popularly called the camel country, the city is renowned for the best riding camels in the world. The splendour of the desert is all around -specially in the camels. It has forts, palaces and beautiful temples, signifying the rich heritage. The annual camel festival is one of the many highlights of the city.
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> Junagarh Fort. This imposing fort was built between 1589 and 1594 by Raja Rai Singh, one of the trusted Rajput generals of Akbar. The fort defied every attack that was made on it and today, stands proud and unconquered. The perimeter wall is nearly a kilometer long, with 37 bastions and two gates. The Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) is the main access to the inside. Within are a profusion of palaces (37 of them), pavilions and temples. Each palace is, in turn, a picturesque ensemble of courtyards, balconies, towers and kiosks. The palaces, exquisitely built in red sandstone and marble are ornate with mirror work, carvings and paintings. A museum with valuable miniature paintings and rare antiques is also located in the Junagarh Fort.

> 18th Nov: BIKANER – PHALODI - JAISALMER.
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> JAISALMER The Golden city, is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located 575 kilometres (357 mi) west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain temples. Many of the houses and temples are finely sculptured. It lies in the heart of the Thar Desert (great Indian desert) and has a population of about 78,000. It is the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer Distric
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> The havelis are also known as the 'mansion of brocade merchants'. This name has been given probably because the family dealt in threads of gold and silver used in embroidering dresses. However, there are theories, which claim that these traders made considerable amount of money in Opium smuggling and Money-lending.
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Rajasthan

View from our room in Udaipur.  Parts of the Bond movie Octopussy 

Were filmed here.  It is very picturesque and our room is wonderful

Thanks Lalit!

Another view from our bay window

We have been in Udaipur for two nights staying in the Aashiya Haveli with a bay window overlooking the beautiful lake. In town we stopped and Lalit asked a man on the street for directions to our guest house and the man told us. Then as we drove on we all looked at each other laughing. Lalit had asked in Hindi and the answer was in clear English! Lalit said that had never happened to him before. He had to verify with us that we had heard English - Ha - a real tourist area. Some of the James Bond movie Octopussy was filmed in Udaipur so there are resturants that show the movie during dinner. We didn't go to any of these but we will watch the movie when we get home. The city is in fact romantic especially in the area we were staying with the lake views of the water palace and the lights reflecting at night not to mention sunset over the lake. We had tea last night sitting in a large opening at the end of the outdoor hall just outside our room door (which we left open) watching the sunset and listening to the chants, prayers, bells, fireworks and all the sounds of the city and lake.

Two nights before we were in Jaipur and had several strange experiences while shopping on our own in a market area. We had purchased some things and while Susan was in a shop I sat outside talking with some other shop keepers when a tall guy came down the street and sat down. Once finding out that I was from the US he wanted to talk about drones and Bin Laden etc. He was Muslim. So I kept telling him that no way Obama is a Muslim. As he got more upset trying to get me to talk about his subject and maybe wanting to escalate, Susan came out and we left while the shopkeeper kept assuring me that the guy was not a terrorist. Then we went with a seemingly nice older gentleman to his silver shop, but his prices seemed high and we weren't really shopping for silver anyway but I made the mistake of asking prices and seeing how much lower he would accept .. Not much so we just left as the man and his two sons ran after us reducing prices all the way but the frantic nature of the scene got the other shopkeepers down the street excited and they began to actively try to block us from going any further and one reached to block Susan and she ran into his arm. I turned and put a hand on his shoulder and yelled No to him and she passed through. As we left and crossed the street we could hear the older mad from the silver shop yelling at the guy "never touch the woman!" over and over. We made our escape across the busy street and we thought that we will not slow down and visit that much again.

But when we got to Udaipur there were some good shops but we were reluctant to do any shopping but the merchants were much lower key and were really pleasant to deal with. So our shopping is continuing. Just wondering how can we tell the difference before we are in such a situation again??

Out walking after dinner last night we came on a wedding procession with the groom on the traditional white horse and the hand pushed band wagon with loud speakers and the generator wagon along behind with the wire running between them powering the party, blocking the street, so horns honking everywhere and the wedding party dancing in the street (some of these girls can really wiggle around in their saris). The groom went into a temple for a blessing before proceeding to ride away to get his bride, with a sword on his shoulder. There was also a brass and drums band marching behind the music wagon (band wagon?) Of course we had left our cameras in the room. From now on we must carry a camera everywhere!

We are in the car heading into Gujarat driving on a really nice four lane divided highway but this is still India and it is not unusual to encounter another vehicle coming toward us on this side of the highway and other things also. First it was a lady herding six huge water buffaloes toward us in the middle of our lane. Then there are the cows and the last thing was something like thirty camels coming toward us on the highway. Being a passenger here can be interesting and a certain trust must be placed in the driver or we might develop a nervous twitch! (still might happen.. Ha!)

Haridwar and Rishikesh

As an unplanned diversion Lalit arraigned for Mr. Omprikash to drive us to these two cities about 5 hours north of Delhi. Lalit sent another guide Veeru with us also.

Haridwar is an ancient city and important Hindu pilgrimage site on the upper Ganges. We toured some temples there and were rather uncomfortable with the attention we were getting. We saw no other tourists from outside India in the two nights and day we spent there which is OK, but some people stared at us so openly with wide eyes and mouth open. Our guide said they were from very far in the country and on pilgrimage and probably had never seen a westerner in their lives. We liked the ghats and the evening puja along the river, but Haridwar is a city for Hindus.

Rishikesh of course famous for the Beatles visit in the 60s has many Yoga and Meditation Ashrams and the tourist uniform in the city looks like a Yoga class has just let out down the street at whatever hour we were out. The place was more comfortable for us and there was some really good food, chocolate, and banana lassis. If we go back we should stay longer in an ashram program.

We were really happy to get back to Delhi for a few days, we know the neighborhood well enough and have found some really good restaurants. The best South Indian drip coffee and great Thali,
Pam, you would love it! We took the girls at the Guest House a dark chocolate cake and I think it was devoured within 10 minutes of delivery!!

Likir House Delhi

We have moved to the Likir House in the Lajpat Nagar area of south Delhi close to the Defense Colony. We really like this guest house a lot. The rooms are roomy and very clean. The staff are wonderful Tibetan people. Some of the help are what they call 'fresh' - newly arrived after escaping Tibet. There was a young man staying in the Buddhist Temple who had recently escaped Tibet but his parents had not made it out. It is a subject they don't want to talk about.

This guest house has a better feel to us than the Temple and is more comfortable. The attached bathroom at the temple had a very bad sewer gas odor when water was run down drains. Likir House has never had that problem when we've stayed here. We have noticed that problem in a lot of places in India and Nepal but usually in the more rustic rural guest houses. The rooms at the Likir House are also larger than at the Buddhist Temple in East of Kailash.

Although the big deal difference is that the Defense Colony market is just a short walk away from Likir House. Crossing the big road,on the way is easy because just across the road from the Likir driveway are steps that go up to the raised metro train. Just take those steps up and then down the other side and turn right and then left on the next street. Three blocks down and there is the circle of Defense Colony Market and the great variety of Restaurants and shops. The neighborhood is also more upscale than East of Kailash or Kailash Colony making it a cleaner more relaxing walk.
We ate at Sagar late this afternoon, and it was wonderful! We had the Thali which was very good with plenty of refills by a very attentive wait staff. (if you order Thali it usually includes free refills until you cry uncle). Thali is the same as Dahl Bhatt - spicy Dal or beans and rice with curried veges, curd, a green vege and several other small dishes of delicious things to eat with the rice and bread. I had a masala buttermilk to drink for the first time -- wonderful if you like the taste of curd (yogurt) with some mild spices and I did. It really helped with the hot spices in the Thali. Then we had south Indian drip coffee -- two cups each. Really good with a small desert. We did not get the Dosas, a south Indian standard that can be a meal in itself. But we will be getting plenty of that in South India next month. We were so full we couldn't even look at the beautiful chocolates in the desert shops around the colony. That is serious full.

We leave for Rishikesh and Hairdwar in the morning for four or five days, with Mr Omprakash driving and Veeru as our guide. It is about a 5 hour drive from here. It will be cooler there and beautiful with a many meditation and yoga ashrams around the area. We will return and eat more at Sagar before leaving for Rajastan and Gujariat with Mr. Omprakash and Lalit on the 16th.

We purchased our flight tickets this morning for the Grand Canyon hiking, and Whitefish skiing trips. So that piece of administrative planning is out of the way and I can quit checking the fares and trying to make sure I have good wifi available.

Also, a load of trekking gear and unnecessary clothing was packed up and sent via UPS back home with great help from Lalit. The shipping agent came to our guest house where we loaded the box and did the weight and payment. Another thing done! Getting lighter! I wish it was that easy with body weight - just ship it off! Ha!

We are having mixed drinks (mango juice and soda water) with nuts and snacks in the room tonight. Yummm.

Hope everyone Is doing well and staying Happy.

Namaste, Jullay, Peace, Darryl and Susan

In Delhi

We will be leaving in two days for Rishikesh and Haridwar for about 4 or 5 days, then starting on the whirlwind tour of Rajastan and Gujarat.  We met a bicycle rider from Nashville in the Bagdogra airport two days ago and we found that we had mutual friends!  The world is getting smaller.  

We just came in from walking to dinner, dodging all the forms of transport all around us.  Funny that the cars and motorbikes honk constantly, but each kind of honk means something.  So we have gotten good at knowing when to move out of the way fast.  Bicycle riders give a varying pitch whistle to let you know they are coming up from behind and rickshaws have the little bells that we used to have on our first bikes, but some have the Clarabell the clown squeeze horns.  One had a soda bottle rigged to replace the horn's rubber ball that had evidently worn out.  So that sound was the crinkle of the bottle blended with the honk.  What a hoot!  Walking in the US is never like this!  

We are staying in a Buddhist Monastery/Temple in South Delhi in the area called East of Kailash.   Our walk was into the Kailash Colony shopping and eating area.  A festive bright area around a small park.  The Temple where we are staying has meditation at 6 and 6 and through out the meditation a monk keeps a steady slow rhythm on a large drum and chants softly.  We have not gone to meditation yet.  Shoes are off at the front door so everyone is barefoot or with socks only.    One of the guest house rates includes all meals, so we have been eating most meals with the head monk (Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura), two other monks, and any guests that are here.  Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura is responsible for the construction of the Shanti Stupa in Leh ( a beautiful place) and he is an accomplished musician.  Take a look at Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura's Facebook music links.

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gyomyo-Nakamura-MUSIC/192561927473737

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Stupa

This has been a quiet and peaceful place to take a break from traveling.

Love and Peace to you all.